nathanael
Cosmopolitan
: “Die Wahrheit macht frei und ist das Fundament der Einheit (John Paul II)
Posts: 636
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Post by nathanael on Jan 17, 2008 7:22:10 GMT -7
Having just had my own brush with death due to a severe food poisoning, which kept me for seven days without eating and sleeping, and which was overcome by the marvelous belgian and portugese drugs (Poland now has access to all European Union drugs!), I can see how illness is akin to a wintertime, in mood and in a newly found outlook on life. I summarize a passage which I found in The Daybook, A Contemplative Journal 1995 (probably Sinsinawa Dominican): "Winter can be most 'fruitful' of seasons. It helps us fine tune acute awareness, for with its bare lanscape, the simplicities of survival, and the intensification of sound and movement it enhances our capacity for sensing and responding to the more subtle dimensions of life [...] the black bird can be lost in summer's profusion of green, but against winter's snow, we can watch the yellow eye of the black bird as it scans the mountains! [...] in the bare images of the winter's speech, day and night still talk to us about the presence of the sacred, a presence as common as: a rabbit's track in snow, a bare tree leaning over a dark river, the confort of snowy mountains, long, long nights, a cold moon above empty woods, slowly falling snow under street lamps, the crowded waiting room at the doctor's office, tiny birds huddled together on a branch, a train whistle disappearing into the cold night, [...] will spring come again ...?" The spring did not come again for my friend, Sister Margaret Larsen, OP, from Alaska, who sent me this excerpt. She died from cancer after much suffering. But she was never afraid of death, loving flowers, wind, and grass, the moose and the Northern Lights. We shared the passion for the snow and the arctic roses (I even was on the 26-Glacier Cruise with her, enjoying the unforgettable icy mountains, the ice floes, and the otters floating on their backs in the freezing waters, blissfully devouring salmon). I had many letters from her about the Natural beauty of Alaska, but after her death the family was seeking material for a book, so I sent them back, except a few including this excerpt. One needs not fear death, knowing that the Loving God is waiting at the end of the trail! By the way, I have to recommend the gastroenterologist, Dr. Bogdan Badowski, ul. Estery 6, 31-056 Kraków (tel. (021) 421-5164. He is a great human being, and I don't say it lightly. When a doctor is also a great human being, the healing gets easier.
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Post by hollister on Jan 17, 2008 7:35:21 GMT -7
Nathanael, I am glad to hear you are doing well now! I wondered where you had been. In my own "walk through the shadow of death" this past year, I have been often surprised by the quiet peace and beauty I have been blessed with at times. I will put your name in my prayer bag for your continued good health and recovery. H
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Post by justjohn on Jan 17, 2008 7:59:24 GMT -7
Nathanael, Glad to hear you are recovering. Food poisoning is nothing trivial. I hope you won't have any ill effects from your battle. Any idea what caused it?
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Post by bescheid on Jan 17, 2008 9:39:53 GMT -7
Nathanael
Now listion, non of this, Ok?? For you would be missed sorely in as much as of my self, and I do not wish to miss...
I know precisely your knowledge if death. It is a shared of feeling only to those that have this experience with the fortune of return.
Yes, also have I felt the brush of death, but only a slight brush, for my life was not taken {obvious}. My sensation was not of any fear/pain or mystery. It as as in the last moments, a calm of no sensation, just a water fall sound as in my ears. Then a rush of nose and a light become brite within my eyes.
If perchance you feel to share of your experience, this is ok, if not, I will certainly understand...
How ever/ I am very happy of your return!!! Now please to stay with us..
Charles
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Post by valpomike on Jan 17, 2008 10:06:06 GMT -7
Glad to see you are back and O.K.
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Post by Jaga on Jan 17, 2008 10:29:29 GMT -7
Glad to see you back!
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Post by justjohn on Jan 17, 2008 12:36:52 GMT -7
Joyce, Have your results come back yet? Yes, they finally came back-on Wednesday-the dr said my kidney failure is a result of the advanced Diabetes I have. There is no cancer-thank goodness, or any Lupus or weird kidney disease like that microscopic polyarteritis. I just have to watch my diet-limit my sodium and potassium levels and watch how much protein I eat. Hollister-I don't know your real name... By the way, I was reading another thread-I forgot which one now-that you had made a comment as to being half way thru your chemo treatments. Would you mind if I was nosy and asked you about your chemo treatments and what kind of cancer you have/had? Other than the chemo-are you receiving any other advanced medicines for your blood levels such as Procritt shots? Do you have a good support system for your medical and otherwise? Joyce, Welcome to the 'Polish Diabetics Blog and Forum'. I also have Diabetes. It is DB II type. Several others also. We can swap stories of our trials and tribulations.
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joyce
Full Pole
Posts: 394
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Post by joyce on Jan 17, 2008 19:07:39 GMT -7
Yes, they finally came back-on Wednesday-the dr said my kidney failure is a result of the advanced Diabetes I have. There is no cancer-thank goodness, or any Lupus or weird kidney disease like that microscopic polyarteritis. I just have to watch my diet-limit my sodium and potassium levels and watch how much protein I eat. Hollister-I don't know your real name... By the way, I was reading another thread-I forgot which one now-that you had made a comment as to being half way thru your chemo treatments. Would you mind if I was nosy and asked you about your chemo treatments and what kind of cancer you have/had? Other than the chemo-are you receiving any other advanced medicines for your blood levels such as Procritt shots? Do you have a good support system for your medical and otherwise? Joyce, Welcome to the 'Polish Diabetics Blog and Forum'. I also have Diabetes. It is DB II type. Several others also. We can swap stories of our trials and tribulations. Thank you for the welcome J.John. In some other posts via other threads, I have found some others here that have diabetes also. In the past, I have denied that I had Diabetes. I always blamed it on "something I ate" that raised the blood sugar. In a sense that is true...it is always something that you eat that will raise the blood sugar. Controlling how much I consume and what I consume is the key in keeping my blood sugar down...and exercising when I can... I have type 2 Diabetes. I do not take any oral medication because of the stomach ulcers I have. I was placed on insulin for a brief time, but thru diet moderation, I have been able to keep the b. sugar within the normal levels without the insulin. But now due to the 35% kidney function that I have left, it is a real battle trying to balance my diet-to make sure I get all the nutrients that I need for a day. I am trying hard to limit my intake of protein, sodium and potassium. Those 3 things are what can cause my kidneys to shut down. When I did the regualr diabetic diet, I was used to having protein at all my meals. Not anymore. 80 grams of protein is not alot. The sodium which is limited to 2 grams per day, is not alot either-but I have never been a big salt eater. Most of the salt I get comes from processed foods. I don;t cook with salt-that's why there are salt & pepper shakers on the table. The potassium-only allowed 2 grams per day is something I am having difficulty with. I never even thought of what natural foods have potassium in it. But the typical ones are bananas, oranges, apples, squash and tomatoes. I've had to re-learn how to eat again. For awhile, I was afraid to eat anything-for fear I would overdose on the potassium. Could you imagine overdosing on bananas? But I have to watch how much spaghetti I consume. I LOVE spaghetti!!! ;D and the Parmesan cheese and the garlic bread... O solo me o...(sung to an Italian tune) That's a spicy meat-a-ball! ;D
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nathanael
Cosmopolitan
: “Die Wahrheit macht frei und ist das Fundament der Einheit (John Paul II)
Posts: 636
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Post by nathanael on Jan 18, 2008 4:40:45 GMT -7
Thanks to all for the good wishes. I wish I could know what type of poisoning that was. In Italy, I was poisoned to the point of death by the notorious "soda spiking" in the supermarkets of the 2004-2005. Many people, who bought soft drinks in plastic bottles, in those days, later found that they had been perforated by a siringe and a deadly poison injected. In my case, I bought a gallon bottle of a soft drink on my way to Mentorella, a major Polish-Italian shrine of the Mother of God, often visited by John Paul II. By the time I got to Prenestina, everything was dancing in my eyes and I fell unconscious for several hours. The Italian police refused to investigate, and neither did the hospital. It was a miracle that I didn't cause an accident. In Italy, like in modern Poland today the causes of illnesses are seldom sought, with all attention being concentrated on treating "symptoms." This saves the nations billions, but leaves the people in dark. I have ruled out bird flu H5N1, since I had not developed pneumonia (bird flu has presently been spotted in Cracow). The other possibility is the E-coli 0157:H7, which I believe applies in this case. This poisoning causes severe dehydration and is often deadly. I am glad I have recovered by the grace of God! I wish Poland payed more attention to E-coli 0157:H7, but, lo and behold, the physician I spoke with had told me that "it is safe, for it appears in every intestine." I also am concerned about the tons of fruits and vegetables that are coming from Italy ... much of which is processed by Mafia, whose members are now in jail for the Polish slave tomato gatherers affair. I think that Poland should pay much more attention to food spiking these days ...
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Post by justjohn on Jan 18, 2008 5:01:30 GMT -7
Nathanael, What is this about Polish tomatoe gatherers as slaves? I haven't heard a word about this here. And yes, the government should be looking at the importation of fruit if what you say happened. Gosh, think of the implications there.
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nathanael
Cosmopolitan
: “Die Wahrheit macht frei und ist das Fundament der Einheit (John Paul II)
Posts: 636
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Post by nathanael on Jan 18, 2008 11:33:27 GMT -7
I thought that this was a public knowledge. You can find my article "The Plight of Polish 'slave-workers' in Italy" in the General Archive, page 9. Basically those were the people that were being lured to Italy with a promise of making good money "gathering tomatoes." Upon arrival, some disappeared or were killed, others were enslaved. The issue became known when a Polish person was shot dead in the countryside near Bari. I lived in Italy at the time, and myself became suspicious. I made a written complaint to the Polish Embassy in Rome when another report came about a 54-year old Polish citizen dying in the woods, in Aosta where I went to church. I was shocked by the terrible condition of some Poles sitting near the church. I couldn't help much, but soon the investigation was under way. When I came to Poland, I lodged another complaint with President Kaczyñski. At present, there is very little news coming about this ugly affair, but the unaccounted people, presumed dead, are still being sought. That's all I know for the moment.
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joyce
Full Pole
Posts: 394
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Post by joyce on Jan 20, 2008 8:38:54 GMT -7
Thanks to all for the good wishes. I wish I could know what type of poisoning that was. In Italy, I was poisoned to the point of death by the notorious "soda spiking" in the supermarkets of the 2004-2005. Many people, who bought soft drinks in plastic bottles, in those days, later found that they had been perforated by a siringe and a deadly poison injected. In my case, I bought a gallon bottle of a soft drink on my way to Mentorella, a major Polish-Italian shrine of the Mother of God, often visited by John Paul II. By the time I got to Prenestina, everything was dancing in my eyes and I fell unconscious for several hours. The Italian police refused to investigate, and neither did the hospital. It was a miracle that I didn't cause an accident. In Italy, like in modern Poland today the causes of illnesses are seldom sought, with all attention being concentrated on treating "symptoms." This saves the nations billions, but leaves the people in dark. I have ruled out bird flu H5N1, since I had not developed pneumonia (bird flu has presently been spotted in Cracow). The other possibility is the E-coli 0157:H7, which I believe applies in this case. This poisoning causes severe dehydration and is often deadly. I am glad I have recovered by the grace of God! I wish Poland payed more attention to E-coli 0157:H7, but, lo and behold, the physician I spoke with had told me that "it is safe, for it appears in every intestine." I also am concerned about the tons of fruits and vegetables that are coming from Italy ... much of which is processed by Mafia, whose members are now in jail for the Polish slave tomato gatherers affair. I think that Poland should pay much more attention to food spiking these days ... Nathanael...you have grasped my curiosity...as far as the food production and the safety issues of food production. Does not Poland and other overseas countries have strict standards-like sealing/sealed caps on beverage containers or vacuum packing of glass jars? I do not know what year the United States food manufacturers started to ensure a good seal on their glass jars and the breaking of the twist off plastic caps off pop bottles. But I am sure it was because of the same reasoning-that someone had tampered with products on store shelves. The biggest improvements in tamper proofing has been in the medicine area. Items such as aspirins, cold medicines, etc. First it was a seal, then came that push down and turn cap, and then a sealed carton which the product came in. I am sure all designed to (what's the word?) divert? prevent-frustrate any one to tamper with products. I recall the few scares that the news media would state about pop bottle tampering. But you don't hear about these things that often anymore. But there's always some kind of news about the E. Coli poisonings in the US. Mostly from fresh produce and some from ground beef. With produce, washing it before you eat it, is essential, but then again how safe is it? I know there are cleaning sprays that one can spray on your produce to make sure it's really clean, but how many people go that extra step? I don't use that spray, but I do wash my veggies. I occasionally surf into a consumer's website that has a listing of food products that have been recalled because of bacterial problems, etc. Just like the massive toys recalls issue from China. It helps to know what we are consuming/buying that can pose hazards to us & our families. Once you've had food poisoning-you never will forget your experience-you become so careful as to what you eat. If it doesn't smell good to me, I throw it out. The rule of thumb in some hospitals- is that if a food product has been made or opened for more than 48 hours and had not been eaten, one should throw it away. Bacteria starts growing after the 24 hour period.
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Post by justjohn on Jan 23, 2008 6:51:39 GMT -7
Thanks to all for the good wishes. I wish I could know what type of poisoning that was. In Italy, I was poisoned to the point of death by the notorious "soda spiking" in the supermarkets of the 2004-2005. Many people, who bought soft drinks in plastic bottles, in those days, later found that they had been perforated by a siringe and a deadly poison injected. In my case, I bought a gallon bottle of a soft drink on my way to Mentorella, a major Polish-Italian shrine of the Mother of God, often visited by John Paul II. By the time I got to Prenestina, everything was dancing in my eyes and I fell unconscious for several hours. The Italian police refused to investigate, and neither did the hospital. It was a miracle that I didn't cause an accident. In Italy, like in modern Poland today the causes of illnesses are seldom sought, with all attention being concentrated on treating "symptoms." This saves the nations billions, but leaves the people in dark. I have ruled out bird flu H5N1, since I had not developed pneumonia (bird flu has presently been spotted in Cracow). The other possibility is the E-coli 0157:H7, which I believe applies in this case. This poisoning causes severe dehydration and is often deadly. I am glad I have recovered by the grace of God! I wish Poland payed more attention to E-coli 0157:H7, but, lo and behold, the physician I spoke with had told me that "it is safe, for it appears in every intestine." I also am concerned about the tons of fruits and vegetables that are coming from Italy ... much of which is processed by Mafia, whose members are now in jail for the Polish slave tomato gatherers affair. I think that Poland should pay much more attention to food spiking these days ... Nathaneal,
An article I read. Thought it might interest you.Food Poisoning Can Be Long-Term Problem By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Posted: 2008-01-22 13:05:26 WASHINGTON (AP) - It's a dirty little secret of food poisoning: E. coli and certain other foodborne illnesses can sometimes trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived that initial bout. Scientists only now are unraveling a legacy that has largely gone unnoticed. What they've spotted so far is troubling. In interviews with The Associated Press, they described high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children, arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella, and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter. More here: body.aol.com/condition-center/digestive-disorders/news/article/_a/food-poisoning-can-be-long-term-problem/20080117163209990001body.aol.com/condition-center/digestive-disorders/news/article/_a/food-poisoning-can-be-long-term-problem/200 80117163209990001
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Post by justjohn on Jan 23, 2008 7:00:40 GMT -7
Thanks to all for the good wishes. I wish I could know what type of poisoning that was. In Italy, I was poisoned to the point of death by the notorious "soda spiking" in the supermarkets of the 2004-2005. Many people, who bought soft drinks in plastic bottles, in those days, later found that they had been perforated by a siringe and a deadly poison injected. In my case, I bought a gallon bottle of a soft drink on my way to Mentorella, a major Polish-Italian shrine of the Mother of God, often visited by John Paul II. By the time I got to Prenestina, everything was dancing in my eyes and I fell unconscious for several hours. The Italian police refused to investigate, and neither did the hospital. It was a miracle that I didn't cause an accident. In Italy, like in modern Poland today the causes of illnesses are seldom sought, with all attention being concentrated on treating "symptoms." This saves the nations billions, but leaves the people in dark. I have ruled out bird flu H5N1, since I had not developed pneumonia (bird flu has presently been spotted in Cracow). The other possibility is the E-coli 0157:H7, which I believe applies in this case. This poisoning causes severe dehydration and is often deadly. I am glad I have recovered by the grace of God! I wish Poland payed more attention to E-coli 0157:H7, but, lo and behold, the physician I spoke with had told me that "it is safe, for it appears in every intestine." I also am concerned about the tons of fruits and vegetables that are coming from Italy ... much of which is processed by Mafia, whose members are now in jail for the Polish slave tomato gatherers affair. I think that Poland should pay much more attention to food spiking these days ... Nathaneal, Something you should read. Food Poisoning Can Be Long-Term Problem By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Posted: 2008-01-22 13:05:26 WASHINGTON (AP) - It's a dirty little secret of food poisoning: E. coli and certain other foodborne illnesses can sometimes trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived that initial bout. Scientists only now are unraveling a legacy that has largely gone unnoticed. What they've spotted so far is troubling. In interviews with The Associated Press, they described high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children, arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella, and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter. "Folks often assume once you're over the acute illness, that's it, you're back to normal and that's the end of it," said Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The long-term consequences are "an important but relatively poorly documented, poorly studied area of foodborne illness." These late effects are believed to make up a very small fraction of the nation's 76 million annual food poisonings, although no one knows just how many people are at risk. A bigger question is what other illnesses have yet to be scientifically linked to food poisoning. And with a rash of food recalls - including more than 30 million pounds of ground beef pulled off the market last year alone - these are questions are taking on new urgency. "We're drastically underestimating the burden on society that foodborne illnesses represent," contends Donna Rosenbaum of the consumer advocacy group STOP, Safe Tables Our Priority. Every week, her group hears from patients with health complaints that they suspect or have been told are related to food poisoning years earlier, like a woman who survived severe E. coli at 8 only to have her colon removed in her 20s. Or people who develop diabetes after food poisoning inflamed the pancreas. Or parents who wonder if a child's learning problems stem from food poisoning-caused dialysis as a toddler. "There's nobody to refer them to for an answer," says Rosenbaum. So STOP this month is beginning the first national registry of food-poisoning survivors with long-term health problems - people willing to share their medical histories with scientists in hopes of boosting much-needed research. Consider Alyssa Chrobuck of Seattle, who at age 5 was hospitalized as part of the Jack-in-the-Box hamburger outbreak that 15 years ago this month made a deadly E. coli strain notorious. She's now a successful college student but ticks off a list of health problems unusual for a 20-year-old: High blood pressure, recurring hospitalizations for colon inflammation, a hiatal hernia, thyroid removal, endometriosis. "I can't eat fatty foods. I can't eat things that are fried, never been able to eat ice cream or milkshakes," says Chrobuck. "Would I have this many medical problems if I hadn't had the E. coli? Definitely not. But there's no way to tie it definitely back." The CDC says foodborne illnesses cause 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths a year. Among survivors, some long-term consequences are obvious from the outset. Some required kidney transplants. They may have scarred intestines that promise lasting digestive difficulty. But when people appear to recover, it is difficult to prove that later problems really are a food-poisoning legacy and not some unfortunate coincidence. It may be that people prone to certain gastrointestinal conditions, for instance, also are genetically more vulnerable to germs that cause foodborne illness. For now, some of the best evidence comes from the University of Utah, which has long tracked children with E. coli. About 10 percent of E. coli sufferers develop a life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, where their kidneys and other organs fail. Ten to 20 years after they recover, between 30 percent and half of HUS survivors will have some kidney-caused problem, says Dr. Andrew Pavia, the university's pediatric infectious diseases chief. That includes high blood pressure caused by scarred kidneys, slowly failing kidneys, even end-stage kidney failure that requires dialysis. "I don't want to leave the message that everyone who had symptoms ... is in trouble," stresses Pavia. Miserable as E. coli is, it doesn't seem to trigger long-term problems unless it started shutting down the kidneys the first time around, he says. "People with uncomplicated diarrhea, by and large we don't have evidence yet that they have complications." Other proven long-term consequences: About 1 in 1,000 sufferers of campylobacter, a diarrhea-causing infection spread by raw poultry, develop far more serious Guillain-Barre syndrome a month or so later. Their body attacks their nerves, causing paralysis that usually requires intensive care and a ventilator to breathe. About a third of the nation's Guillain-Barre cases have been linked to previous campylobacter, even if the diarrhea was very mild, and they typically suffer a more severe case than patients who never had food poisoning. While they eventually recover, "We don't know a great deal about what happens to those people five years later. What does 'normal' look like?" Tauxe says. A small number of people develop what's called reactive arthritis six months or longer after a bout of salmonella. It causes joint pain, eye inflammation, sometimes painful urination, and can lead to chronic arthritis. Certain strains of shigella and yersinia bacteria, far more common abroad than in the U.S., trigger this reactive arthritis, too, Tauxe says. What about other patient complaints? A variety of other organ problems might be triggered by HUS, that severe E. coli - because it causes blood clots all over the body that could leave a trail of damage, says Utah's Pavia. Among his hottest questions: HUS patients often suffer pancreatitis. Does that increase risk for diabetes later in life? But proving a connection will require tracking a lot of patients who can provide very good medical records documenting their initial foodborne illness, he cautions. I tried to post the UARL but it wouldn't let me.
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Post by justjohn on Jan 26, 2008 6:15:16 GMT -7
The helmet that could turn back the symptoms of Alzheimer'sBy DAVID DERBYSHIRE - More by this author » Last updated at 10:47am on 25th January 2008 An experimental helmet which scientists say could reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease within weeks of being used is to be tried out on patients. The strange-looking headgear - which has to be worn for ten minutes every day - bathes the brain with infra-red light and stimulates the growth of brain cells. Its creators believe it could reverse the symptoms of dementia - such as memory loss and anxiety - after only four weeks. Alzheimer's disease charities last night described the treatment as "potentially life- changing" - but stressed that the research was still at the very early stages. More here: www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=510172&in_page_id=1774
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